“All performance criteria were met, except for the two targets in the general arrears sector,” Franks told a news conference in Bucharest.
He said that the government general arrears exceeded the levels agreed with the IMF for the first time since the loan agreement was signed in April 2011.
“Following months of significant progress, the arrears have increased for the first time,” Franks said.
Under the loan agreement, Romania has pledged to eliminate its government general arrears. However, the country has repeatedly missed its targets in the sector and asked for several modifications of the performance criteria.
The IMF kept its growth forecast unchanged at 1.5% of GDP in 2012, although it estimates domestic production had a negative impact on the first-quarter figures, due to bad weather.
Additionally, external risks remain, particularly due to the worsening economic situation in the eurozone, Franks said.
In April 2011, Romania and the IMF signed a two-year precautionary loan agreement, successor to a EUR20 billion bailout package received during 2009-2011. The new deal is supported by a EUR1.4 billion precautionary loan from the European Union and a EUR400 million credit line from the World Bank.
So far, the IMF approved total financing to Romania worth around EUR2 billion under the new arrangement, with another EUR475 million due for release in the second half of June. The authorities in Bucharest treated the agreement as precautionary and did no draw any funds.